Clubhouse Coalition on state cuts: 'It could be so much worse'

Friday

Oct 30, 2009 at 12:01 AMOct 30, 2009 at 10:54 AM

Area officials and advocates expressed relief and anxiety Thursday after Gov. Deval Patrick detailed his proposal to cut $268 million from the faltering state budget without touching - as of yet - local aid or a program serving Waltham residents with mental disabilities.

Matthew Kaplan

Area officials and advocates expressed both relief and anxiety yesterday after Gov. Deval Patrick detailed his proposal to cut $268 million from the faltering state budget without touching - as of yet - local aid or a program serving Waltham residents with mental disabilities.

"It could be so much worse," said Reva Stein, executive director of the Waltham-based Massachusetts Clubhouse Coalition, which provides day services to 8,000 clients with developmental issues statewide. "It almost was worse."

Patrick made his anticipated announcement in Worcester following weeks of speculation about the steps he would take to deal with an projected $600 million budget gap.

The biggest losers in Patrick's plan were health and human services, with a $81.7 million reduction, and a variety of education programs that face a $111.7 million cut.

State workers also face losses.

Patrick said non-union employees would have to take nine unpaid furlough days. He's also asking for pay concessions from about 2,000 union state employees, which could save $35 million.

Additionally, Patrick asked for expanded budget-cutting powers to remove $75 million from the Legislature and the courts.

He also urged the Legislature to cut in half and eventually phase out the Quinn Bill, saying it would save Massachusetts $5 million by ending state funding for extra pay granted to officers who earn college degrees.

The cuts also include $13.5 million in transportation department funding and $21.4 million in public safety funding. Specifics of what will be cut will come later from the various departments.

The budget cuts about $48.1 million from early education and elementary and secondary education funding, including $11.6 million to subsidize child care, $18 million from state reimbursements for busing at regional schools, $7 million in special education reimbursement and $5.2 million from charter school reimbursement.

Patrick's budget includes $62 million in federal stimulus money to cover higher education budget cuts plus $102 million he hopes to raise in a tax amnesty program and through taxes.

But this round of budget cuts spared Chapter 70 education aid and unrestricted local aid, which requires legislative approval.

Waltham receives about $17 million of its roughly $200 million annual budget from state aid, city auditor Dennis Quinn said, mostly in the form of education aid and unrestricted local aid.

The city has lost about $4 million in state aid over the past two years, Quinn said. The state did not cut local education aid last year.

Jonathan Palumbo, spokesman for the Executive Office of Education, said the administration focused education-related cuts on services used by the least number of people.

"You try to identify programs that don't have the largest impact on classroom learning," he said.

Palumbo said Massachusetts schools will receive $280 million in federal funds for special education over three years in lieu of decreased state funding.

Over the past weeks, various advocacy groups gathered on Beacon Hill to protest budget cuts, including a 700-person rally Tuesday held in support of the to preserve clubhouse community centers for the mentally ill. Disability advocates have held vigils at the State House since Oct. 8 to preserve funding for the Department of Developmental Services.

Leo Sarkissian, executive director of the Waltham-based Arc of Massachusetts, a disability advocacy group, said he had anticipated a $70 million cut from the department. Instead he was relieved the department was only cut by $7.7 million.